title: Exploration of experiences in therapeutic groups for patients with severe mental illness: development of the Ferrara group experiences scale (FE- GES).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Group therapies are routinely provided for patients with severe mental illness. The factors important to the group experience of patients are still poorly understood and are rarely measured. To support further research and practice, we aimed to develop a questionnaire that captures how patients experience groups within a community mental health context.
  
  
  METHODS
  An initial pool of 39 items was conceptually generated to assess different aspects of group experiences. Items were completed by 166 patients with severe mental illness attending group therapies in community mental health services in Italy. Patients with different psychiatric diagnoses who attended at least 5 group sessions were included. An exploratory factor analysis was used to identify different dimensions of group experiences and to reduce the number of items for each dimension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The resulting questionnaire has five subscales: 1) sharing of emotions and experiences, 2) cognitive improvement, 3) group learning, 4) difficulties in open expression and 5) relationships. Each subscale has 4 items. The scale and sub-scales have good internal consistency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Ferrara Group Experiences Scale is conceptually derived and assesses dimensions of group experience that are theoretically and practically relevant. It is brief, easy to use and has good psychometric properties. After further validation, the scale may be used for research into patient experiences across different group therapy modalities and for evaluation in routine care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Drug Abuse, Ferrara Health Agency, Ferrara, Italy. b.biancosino@ausl.fe.it.
authors.forename: Rosangela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Biancosino
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marmai
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonatti
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moscara
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rigatelli
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Priebe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires